BERLIN – After 10 years of tiki taka, Spain has embarked on a fascinating cultural shift. This is the first novelty of the German European Championship, which few perhaps would have imagined: starting with Croatia, who conceded three goals on their debut without even realizing it. For 111 consecutive games, from one coach to another, Spain surpassed their opponent in terms of ball possession. In Berlin, however, he won, or rather won by a landslide, with a percentage of 46 percent. Spalletti will have already taken note ahead of Thursday’s match: it’s better to avoid revealing yourself.
IT’S ALWAYS US. The coach De La Fuente, a normal and polite man who greets people when he sits in the press room, has reduced the scope of an enormous revolution: «I don’t want to change the traditional philosophy but there are moments in which you can get to the goal choosing other paths.” Against Croatia, in fact, the first two goals came by exploiting aggression and verticality. The rest was management.
HOMESICKNESS. I felt a bit nostalgic watching Morata and Fabian Ruiz, two players who until a few years ago grazed in our area: Alvaro scored the seventh goal in a European championship – only Cristiano Ronaldo and Platini have scored more – while Fabian was decisive with the assist to make it 1-0 and the beautiful goal to double the lead.
PERSPECTIVES. Speaking of talent. The feeling is that Spain can also grow because its star Lamine Yamal, who yesterday set the record for the youngest debutant in a Euro by also scoring the assist for the 3-0, played an almost ordinary match: if he shakes away the emotion, it could be the main problem to manage for Italy.
